Fiction authors crack dreams out of their heads. Sometimes they can do it easily. Sometimes they can't. And no matter how much the authors themselves don't like it as well as eager readers, it cannot be helped.

Sorry for some thread necromancy, but I'm new to the forum, though no stranger to the GRRM debate. For me, one of the more fascinating implications about the continued arguments over Martin's writing habits is the implications for aspiring authors. (I write as well).

With respect to what you wrote above, I would recommend a book I just finished called "The War of Art" by Steven Pressfield, which suggests in many instances that there actually is something that can be done about such blocks, and that they often are thrown up by the author himself/herself.

You might like it because he also speaks about creative ideas in the sense of "cracking dreams" as you put it. For me personally, I found the practical advice very useful, but he lost me at the metaphysical aspects. Maybe you'll find it to be the reverse, but I think it's worth checking out.

I don't think that book is really aimed at forty year writing career veterans like Martin, but who knows, it might help me out, so thanks for the rec.

The Martin debate is in temporary hibernation mostly for now because the book that so many swore would never be published got published last year. There have been further claims that Martin has no plans to actually write the next book in the series also, and these will start to intensify this year as the second season of the t.v. series finishes, the mass market paperback of Dances with Dragons is spreading out globally, Martin talks about football and television tie-in merchandise on his blog, and people start to get anxious.

The earlier delays were due not so much to writing obstacles as enormous changes in story. Originally, Martin planned one trilogy, then changed that once he got into writing the series to two trilogies separated by a five year gap in the timeline of the story. He tried to write the first book of the second trilogy for quite awhile, realized that the five year gap with lots of flashbacks would not work, that it did not give enough grounding for newer characters important in the second planned trilogy, and so had to start a new book that would cover the five year gap. That book became longer and longer, and still some of the major plotlines were not done. So Martin split the book geographically instead of chronologically, making a fourth book about the south and western parts of Westeros, with the other "gap" book to be about the north and the eastern continent. Arya, who is on the eastern continent, had her storyline split, part of it being in the first interim book and part in the second. So that was several years changing all that so it would work and Feast of Crows, the first "gap" book came out in 2005. At that point, Martin had to throw out a lot of what he'd done for the other "gap" book because the threads wouldn't work with the new storylines of the five year gap period, to line up various parties into the area where Danys was -- the "knot". So he started over on a lot of material and revamped it several times. Dances with Dragons gets through that five year period (which is now not really five years but a shorter time period,) and into some of the material meant for timelines after that period (the second trilogy.)

Martin is now dealing with material that was already broadly outlined, instead of the five year gap period where he made a lot of stuff up new and had to connect it to what he had planned. So theoretically, the problems he had are basically done, although his books in this particular series write long. But over the nine year period that he was wrestling with the structure of the series, some readers got very upset or doubtful. I would assume that this concern will continue. It's a big intricate series and he's one guy not in the flush of youth.

Oh believe me, I'm readily familiar with the whole ordeal, as Wert or Evil Agent or anyone who knows me from other forums can attest. And I've no desire to retread the debate either. Suffice to say I don't expect Winds to get here any faster than the last two books and won't be losing any sleep over it this time around. But in the context of what you and others were discussing in this thread, I did think the book recommendation might prove useful for you and other creative people similarly situated, if a bit less helpful for someone as established as Martin.